People of all ages expect more these days from their online experience. As they participate in your peer-to-peer fundraising event or campaign, they compare their online experience to that of other peer-to-peer events, and also with other online experiences, like those of Facebook, Amazon, Etsy, and other familiar websites. The software platform you select should make your participants’ experience with your campaign or event as smooth as possible so they can focus on raising funds on your organization’s behalf, not on struggling to use your event or campaign website.

Here are some capabilities to consider as you research options for peer-to-peer fundraising software for your organization:

Event registration — Does the platform offer the ability to have participants pay a registration fee, ask additional questions during registration, and electronically review and accept a waiver before completing registration? Does the platform give participants the convenience of registering multiple people in a single transaction?

Ability to re-join campaign — Does the platform allow you to make returning participants’ experience easier by giving them the ability to “reclaim” their team from last year, or allow individual participants to look at who they sent emails to and who supported them last year? In some cases, they can even reclaim their previous year’s personal fundraising page with text and images/videos and a list of previous donors. If this is an important capability to your organization, be sure to ask to see this in a product demo, as this is a nuanced feature that evolves often.

Gamification — Does the platform provide visual ways, such as engagement badges, to show competition and achievements throughout a campaign? Supporters like to be acknowledged for their work, and this type of recognition helps ensure that your most engaged participants are recognized.

Credit card guarantee — Does the platform allow you to securely capture credit card information to hold for later charging if a participant does not meet an agreed upon minimum fundraising goal? This functionality is popular for endurance or destination campaigns where there are extra expenses for the organization to produce the event or get participants to the event. A participant commits to raise a minimum amount to cover these expenses, and their credit card is charged only if they fail to meet this minimum commitment. Having the ability to collect this fee via credit card makes it easier on both the participant and your organization.

Offline gift recording — Does the platform allow participants to enter offline (cash or check) gifts that they can then send in to the organization or hand in the day of the event? This capability also can allow participants’ progress meters to reflect donations even if the donations haven’t been processed by the organization yet.

Finding peer-to-peer fundraising software that meets your nonprofit’s staff and budget needs may seem challenging, but it doesn’t have to be. Just be sure to understand your organization’s specific requirements, request software demos that match your organization’s needs, and ask questions before making a purchase.

—by Christina Relacion, Account Manager, Cathexis Partners
Christina has more than 10 years of experience in digital marketing, website editing, video production, and social media. Before joining Cathexis Partners, she served as Communications Manager at the Scleroderma Foundation’s national office.

Cathexis Partners is a certified Blackbaud Solution Provider and a Salesforce Foundation Registered Partner. We also work extensively with WordPress and many technologies that enhance and expand CRM and CMS for nonprofits.